The Absinthe United States Condition

During the early 1900s many countries in europe suspended the strong alcoholic drink Absinthe, United States banned Absinthe in 1912.

Absinthe was never as popular in the United States as it was in European countries absinthe-spoons.com such as France and Switzerland, but there initially were regions of the US, like the French section of New Orleans, where Absinthe was served in Absinthe bars.

Absinthe is actually a liquor created from herbs such as wormwood, aniseed and fennel. It is usually green, hence its nickname the Green Fairy, and possesses an anise taste.

Absinthe is an interesting concoction or recipe of herbs that work as a stimulant and alcohol and other herbs that work as a sedative. It’s the essential oils from the herbs that can cause Absinthe to louche, go cloudy, when water is added in.

Wormwood, Artimesia Absinthium, has a chemical called thujone which is considered to be just like THC in the drug cannabis, to be psychoactive also to cause psychedelic effects.

Absinthe United States as well as the prohibition
At the outset of the 1900s there was clearly a powerful prohibition movement in France and this movement used the fact that Absinthe was linked to the Bohemian culture of Montmartre – with its writers, artists as well as the courtesans and loose morals of establishments such as Moulin Rouge, and also the allegation that an Absinthe drinker murdered his family, to argue for a prohibition on Absinthe. They stated that Absinthe could well be France’s ruin, that Absinthe was a drug and intoxicant that will drive everyone to insanity!

The United States observed France’s example and banned Absinthe and drinks containing thujone in 1912. It became illegal, a crime, to buy or sell Absinthe in the USA. Americans either were forced to concoct their very own homemade recipes or journey to countries like the Czech Republic, where Absinthe remained legal, to enjoy the Green Fairy.

Many US legal experts debate that Absinthe was not ever banned in the US and that if you look cautiously into the law and ordinance you will see that only drinks that contains over 10mg of thujone were banned. However, US Customs and police would not allow any Absinthe shipped from abroad to enter the US, only thujone free Absinthe substitutes were permitted.

Absinthe United States 2007

Ted Breaux, a native of New Orleans, operates a distillery in Saumur France. He has used vintage bottles of pre-ban Absinthe to research Absinthe recipes also to create his very own classic pre-ban style Absinthe – the Jade collection.

Breaux was amazed to find that the vintage Absinthe, as opposed to belief, actually only comprised very small quantities of thujone – inadequate to harm anyone. He became motivated to offer an Absinthe drink that he could ship to his homeland, the US. His dream was to yet again see Absinthe being taken in bars in New Orleans.

Breaux and lawyer Gared Gurfein, had a lot of meetings with the Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau about the thujone content of Breaux’s Absinthe recipe. They found that actually no law needed to be changed!

Breaux’s dream grew to be reality in 2007 when his brand Lucid was able to be shipped from his distillery in France into the US. Lucid is based on vintage recipes and possesses real wormwood, unlike fake Absinthes. Now, in 2008, a brand name called Green Moon as well as Absinthes from Kubler are all able to be bought and sold around the US.

Absinthe United States – A lot of Americans are now enjoying their first taste of authentic legal Absinthe, perhaps there’ll be an Absinthe revival.